Just finished replacing my water pump and thermostat this past weekend... wasn't "horrible" but took a tad longer than I hoped. Parts cost me $420, OEM.

As I was down there I noticed what appears to be a small oil leak. I believe it's either the oil pan gasket or the oil filter housing gasket. I "think" it's the oil filter housing gasket as it's coming from up top and I can see it "seeping" from the gasket area.

I'm "fairly" confident (about 85%) that there are no cracks or anything broken. The car has done me good these past years... 2006 325i with 117k on the clock.

How long has some folks here run their 2006's? Any luck pushing into the 200k range? I'm super tempted, but for some reason lately have gotten the little itch to sell and move on.

Just curious on other folks experiences on the wonderful great debate on selling or keeping/maintaining.

I suppose it depends on your situation. I seem to have about a 2 year itch with cars, unless there is something I really love about them. I am not quite to a year of ownership with my 06. We will see how things go in the next year or so with it. I love the car so far though. Its a question of cost of ownership of an older car with higher miles. Planning on maintenance is going to be cheaper then a car payment, or buying the car outright. Personally I would keep the car, but as I said, I move through cars every couple of years.

Yeah, I'm torn. I really do enjoy the car but I don't have very good luck and I just have this bad feeling that something major will go wrong and I don't want the hassle.

No basis for my feeling... the car runs great. The only thing that concerns me is having to do the gaskets. I would just buy them (like $25) and do the work myself. It'll kill an entire weekend I'm sure, but I do enjoy working on my vehicles. I won't even know how serious (if at all serious) the leak (really a slight seepage) is until this weekend after a week of driving on the fresh oil change. I"ll get back under her and check it out.

Either way, even if I had to replace the gaskets, that's not really a huge concern, just some of my time.

I'm more worried about something major... like the engine.

Who knows... just debating it. I normally only keep cars a few years as well, so maybe that's my issue as well, just getting my "car refresh" itch.

I honestly don't have any other cars in mind... this was my first BMW and I would definitely not be opposed to another. I'm not a big fan of buying new due to the hit you take... but definitely would have to be under warranty when first purchased so I can get it fully inspected and everything fixed right off the bat. (no matter what car it would be).

Anyways, it's always nice to hear folks pushing past 200k miles. Glad to see some input from other folks.

Always interested to hear what folks think about their high mileage cars.

Honestly I'd get rid of it if I were you. 06's will probably take a dip in worth when the new 4 series come out next year. That oil leak could turn into a big problem so selling it now may be smart. Treat yourself to a newer E92 335i!

Yeah, I'm torn. I really do enjoy the car but I don't have very good luck and I just have this bad feeling that something major will go wrong and I don't want the hassle.

No basis for my feeling... the car runs great. The only thing that concerns me is having to do the gaskets. I would just buy them (like $25) and do the work myself. It'll kill an entire weekend I'm sure, but I do enjoy working on my vehicles. I won't even know how serious (if at all serious) the leak (really a slight seepage) is until this weekend after a week of driving on the fresh oil change. I"ll get back under her and check it out.

Either way, even if I had to replace the gaskets, that's not really a huge concern, just some of my time.

I'm more worried about something major... like the engine.

Who knows... just debating it. I normally only keep cars a few years as well, so maybe that's my issue as well, just getting my "car refresh" itch.

I honestly don't have any other cars in mind... this was my first BMW and I would definitely not be opposed to another. I'm not a big fan of buying new due to the hit you take... but definitely would have to be under warranty when first purchased so I can get it fully inspected and everything fixed right off the bat. (no matter what car it would be).

Anyways, it's always nice to hear folks pushing past 200k miles. Glad to see some input from other folks.

Always interested to hear what folks think about their high mileage cars.

Personally I'm choosing to wait for this exact reason. I test drove an FR-S last week for shits and giggles and didn't really like it.

Felt slower but as agile as the BMW, but with much less room.

Drove an xdrive35i X3 and liked it but I'm not ready to grow up that much just yet. Still a little bit of little kid left in me. I'd recommend waiting till you find something in the market you like, otherwise you'll end up with buyers remorse. "casually" search.

I'm guessing your car's paid off too. That was another thing. Its been awhile since I've had to make a car payment, so I can afford the maintenance as if it is one (allocating $300 a month).

Honestly I'd get rid of it if I were you. 06's will probably take a dip in worth when the new 4 series come out next year. That oil leak could turn into a big problem so selling it now may be smart. Treat yourself to a newer E92 335i!

Interesting viewpoint. You seem to be one of the few who favors selling. How many years do you typically keep a car? Just curious. For me it's normally only a few (3-4). I would actually love a 335, but I dunno. Maybe a tad more than I want to spend. Honestly, my dream car is a e36 M3 sedan... not many left around but man I just love the way they look.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DUI Elite

Personally I'm choosing to wait for this exact reason. I test drove an FR-S last week for shits and giggles and didn't really like it.

Felt slower but as agile as the BMW, but with much less room.

Drove an xdrive35i X3 and liked it but I'm not ready to grow up that much just yet. Still a little bit of little kid left in me. I'd recommend waiting till you find something in the market you like, otherwise you'll end up with buyers remorse. "casually" search.

I'm guessing your car's paid off too. That was another thing. Its been awhile since I've had to make a car payment, so I can afford the maintenance as if it is one (allocating $300 a month).

Yeah, I'll start "casually" looking.

As far as the payment, I actually do still owe on it, as I bought it used CPO. I don't owe much on it (it's worth way more than I owe), and my payments are very low (sub $200)... but that is something to take into consideration.

Interesting viewpoint. You seem to be one of the few who favors selling. How many years do you typically keep a car? Just curious. For me it's normally only a few (3-4). I would actually love a 335, but I dunno. Maybe a tad more than I want to spend. Honestly, my dream car is a e36 M3 sedan... not many left around but man I just love the way they look.

Usually until the transmission dies. Past cars around 160k. But with a newer BMW I'm a bit weary of doing that. Your tone just sounded like you're itching for a car.

Usually until the transmission dies. Past cars around 160k. But with a newer BMW I'm a bit weary of doing that. Your tone just sounded like you're itching for a car.

I may be, which my fiancÚ says is a bad thing. She'd like to see me keep the BMW another few years (say 150-175k miles). Then sell it. Like I said, normally 2-4 years roughly for me.. and the bimmer just ticked over 2 years old. Maybe leasing is the way I need to go haha.

But like I said, this is my first BMW and I truly do love it. I know if I keep it I have to expect some $ out of pocket for some fixes. I do most the fixes myself, just buy the parts. I'd like to get my gasket on my oil filter housing swapped, I'm pretty sure it's got a little seepage going on. Other than that I just did a whole heap of things to her:

I keep up on the maintenance. I dunno, maybe your right, just itching for something new, which is most likely a bad thing.

I did buy this CPO and still have a little $ left to pay on her... so maybe I'll just keep her another few years and go awhile with no payments... don't think I've ever had no car payments since I was 16 (28 now).